Eucharist vs. Supper: insights into the rituals of the churches

Eucharist vs. Supper: insights into the rituals of the churches

Zweibrücken, Deutschland - The differences between the Catholic and Protestant understanding of the Eucharist and the Lord's Supper have always been a central topic in inter -confession dialogue. During the Eucharist, the Catholic Christians often celebrate every Sunday, the host is broken over a bowl. This practice has its roots in tradition, which goes back to Jesus, which broke the bread in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago. Easter takes up a special place in this context, since bread and wine play a permanent role in the church, such as reported.

Catholic faith considers the Eucharist as the second main acrament next to baptism. The highlight of the Holy Mass is the celebration of the Eucharist, in which the victim of Christ is remembered. The situation is different in the evangelical understanding, which only shaped the term “sacrament” by Martin Luther. Only baptism and sacrament are recognized here as sacraments, whereby the sacrament is considered the "home port of every faith". Evangelical services that contain the sacrament usually take place once a month or less often, such as Domradio explained.

Eucharist and Lord's Supper in comparison

Both denominations, the Catholics and the Lutherans, believe in the real presence of Jesus in bread and wine during the celebration. However, this differs from reformed views that only see bread and wine as a sign, and from Zwingli's memory. In the Catholic teaching, a change takes place in the biblical sacrament words, in which bread and wine transform into the "sacramental present" of body and blood of Christ. This present remains beyond the service, and the remaining consecrated hosts are kept in the tabernacle.

The distribution of the Eucharist is carried out in Catholic churches by priests or communion aiders, whereby the wine distribution in the layperson is allowed. In contrast, the Protestant community gathers around the altar, where the pastor shares bread and wine before the celebration ends with a blessing. A central difference is also the right to participate: only Catholic Christians can receive communion, while in Evangelical churches all baptized Christians are approved.

Intercommunion and pastoral challenges

In Germany, different marriages are widespread that offer specific challenges in faith life, especially with communion reception. The German bishops consider the inter -communion - the reception of the sacrament in a different denomination - as an urgent pastoral task. However, there are considerable differences in the understanding of the Eucharist. For theological reasons, Catholics are not allowed to receive the Protestant Lord's Supper, since this does not meet its Sunday obligation and the Catholic Church sees the change in Protestant churches as invalid. Pope John Paul II confirmed that Catholics are not allowed to communicate in communities without a valid consecration.

The Evangelical Church, on the other hand, allows Catholics to receive the Lord's Supper, and usually has no concerns about mutual inter -communion. Special exceptions apply to Catholic Christians at risk of death or serious emergency, in these cases you can receive the Eucharist from a Catholic donor. In the context of these different practices and theological views, it is crucial to promote dialogue and understanding under the denominations in order to secure a common coexistence, which is also emphasized by katholisch.de